Thursday, February 28, 2008

BBFC bans 'Murder Set Pieces'

The BBFC have refused a DVD certificate for psycho thriller 'Murder Set Pieces' stating that "to issue a certificate to Murder Set Pieces, even if statutorily confined to adults, would involve risk of harm within the terms of the Video Recordings Act, would be inconsistent with the Board’s Guidelines, and would be unacceptable to the public."

according to the BBFC press release "Murder Set Pieces is a feature with a single-minded focus on the activities of a psychopathic sexual serial killer, who, throughout the film, is seen raping, torturing and murdering his victims. Young children are among those terrorised and killed, and their inclusion in this abusive context is an added concern. In relation to the adult victims, there is a clear focus on sex or sexual behaviour accompanied by non-consensual pain, injury and humiliation."

They go on to state that the content of the film "also raises potential legal questions, for instance in relation to the Protection of Children Act 1978, as well as possible breaches of other legislation such as that on obscenity."

In recent years the outright banning of a film in the UK is a rare event, and even then is mostly confined to 'adult' titles. However the BBFC has been under pressure in recent weeks and this may be the first sign that they are taking a tougher stance in an attempt to head off further calls for a reform of the censorship system.

Source: Variety

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